Florida Department of CorrectionsJulie L. Jones, Secretary

The American Correctional Association and the Commission on Accreditation for Corrections are private, non-profit organizations which administer the only national accreditation program for all components of adult and juvenile corrections. The purpose of these organizations is to promote improvement in the management of a voluntary accreditation program and the ongoing development and revision of relevant, useful standards.

More than 1,500 correctional facilities and programs are involved in accreditation, a process that began in 1978. Approximately 80 percent of all state departments of corrections and youth services are active participants. Also included are programs and facilities operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the US Parole Commission, the District of Columbia, and the private sector.

For these agencies, the accreditation program offers the opportunity to evaluate their operations against national standards, to remedy deficiencies and to upgrade the quality of correctional programs and services. The recognized benefits from such a process include improved management, a defense against lawsuits through documentation and the demonstration of a "good faith" effort to improve conditions of confinement, increased accountability and enhanced public credibility for administrative and line staff, a safer and more humane environment for personnel and offenders, and the establishment of measurable criteria for upgrading programs, personnel practices, and physical plant on a continuous basis.

The Florida Department of Corrections' involvement in the accreditation process began in 1968 when it was the first state to complete a preliminary self-evaluation of standards. This became the basis for the Manual of Standards for Adult Correctional Institutions, 1st. Edition, published in August 1977. Florida also became the first state to enter all of its major institutions into the accreditation process in 1979 when Secretary Louie Wainwright entered into a contract to accredit its 24 major institutions. This was followed by the accreditation of its Probation and Parole Field Services and all of its (30) Work Release Centers in 1982. Finally, with the accreditation of its Central Office in January 1984 the Florida Department of Corrections became the largest fully accredited correctional agency in the nation.

The Department of Corrections has continued its quest for excellence by maintaining the accreditation of its major institutions and Work Release Centers. Today the following facilities and programs are fully accredited: